Conquest

The CONQUEST project aims at investigating the nonlinear properties of solids by High-order Harmonic Generation (HHG) Spectroscopy.

By using a combined experimental and theoretical approach we will unveil the physics at the micro- and nanoscale of solids irradiated with a strong laser field with unprecedented temporal resolution.
While HHG experiments and models for atoms and molecules are well established, the case of solids is very different.
Indeed, the initial excitation triggers the formation of multiple interacting electron-hole pairs.
This gives potential access to the formation, relaxation, and decay of a wealth of elemental excitations.
At the same time, extended materials are emerging as prototypes of peculiar physical properties like topologically protected states or new states of matter produced by the photo-excitation process.
HHG can potentially shed light on these phenomena by revealing some of the fundamental processes of quantum physics.
The project will provide a unique set of tools, new knowledge, and physical concepts that will boost the unexplored field of HHG dynamics in solids paving the way to ground-breaking implications.